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Chael Sonnen, top, pounds away on Michael Bisping, bottom, at the UFC on FOX 2 card at the United Center in Chicago. Sonnen won a unanimous decision.
Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 | 12:30 a.m.
UFC on Fox 2
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KSNV coverage of UFC on Fox 2, Jan. 28, 2012.
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Chael Sonnen approached Michael Bisping moments after their middleweight title eliminator bout at UFC on Fox 2 ended and asked him how he thought the judges scored the contest.
Bisping believed he had won by securing the first two rounds. Sonnen shockingly didn’t completely disagree and responded by saying, "You might be right."
Luckily for Sonnen, the judges saw it the other way. Sonnen defeated Bisping by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) to keep his position as the top contender in the 185-pound division.
“If it would have gone the other way,” Sonnen said in a rare moment of candor, “I don’t know that I would have been complaining.”
Bisping (22-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) may not have earned the victory, but he accomplished something just as difficult. Bisping’s performance impressed the usually over-animated Sonnen (28-10-1 MMA, 7-3) so much that he spoke like a mortal at the post-fight press conference.
Sonnen took Bisping down and smothered him in the third round, making the final stanza decisive. But the first two rounds were close and could have gone either way.
“Michael Bisping hit me so hard in the first round that I didn’t even know what day it was,” Sonnen said. “I remember looking at him and thinking, ‘you have no idea how bad you hurt me or else you’d step in and do something about it.’”
Sonnen officially booked an upcoming date with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (31-4 MMA, 14-0 UFC) with the victory. The loss pushed Bisping back once again and left him still searching for the first title shot of his six-year stint with the UFC.
“I’m going nowhere,” Bisping said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time and I intend to do this for a hell of a lot longer.”
“Whether it’s Chael or Anderson, I will definitely fight for that belt.”
Some are already referring to the rematch between Silva and Sonnen as the biggest fight in UFC history. But Sonnen claims Bisping is the tougher match-up.
“I can assure you, having fought (Bisping) and the alleged champion, that (Bisping) could win the title today if they gave him the opportunity,” Sonnen said.
FoxJust because Sonnen spoke glowingly of Bisping after UFC on Fox 2, doesn’t mean he was entirely on his best behavior. Sonnen slighted Silva more than ever before.
Silva vs. Sonnen II is expected to take place at a soccer stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, during one of the first weekends in June. But Sonnen has his doubts.
“I’m not trying to go against the brass here, but the one thing they haven’t revealed is they offered him the fight four times,” Sonnen said. “And he said no four times. Mysteriously, he’s supposed to accept on the fifth.”
Many fans and media members have expressed a concern that bringing Sonnen to Brazil would create a major security burden. Sonnen has gotten a ton of publicity for the way he’s mocked Brazilian fighters and the country’s culture.
But he said it didn’t matter where he fought Silva. Sonnen doesn’t feel threatened by anything in Brazil.
“If those blowhards with their blow darts want to come at me, they can send anybody they want,” Sonnen exclaimed. “But don’t send anybody you want back.”
Sonnen compared fighting in Sao Paulo to appearing in Chicago, a city he said "isn’t exactly a haven for civility." Sonnen just wants Silva as soon as possible, wherever possible.
“To fight three times a year is such a waste of the other 49 weekends of the year,” he said. “Where I come from, it’s not Saturday night if you’re not fighting somebody.”
After UFC on Fox 2, Sonnen is convinced Bisping shares a similar philosophy. He won’t say the same about Silva.
“He’s at a point where he doesn’t want to do this,” Sonnen said of the champion. “He’s faking injuries. He’s making things up. He’s telling the boss no. Good for him. I’d really like to do that myself, but we’re going to have to do something about it. We’re going to have to put two new guys in there. Retire him, strip him and let the new guys fight for the belt.”
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or case.keefer@lasvegassun.com. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
He's got nothing to fume about. The only thing controversial to me was Joe Rogan saying that Sonnen needed a submission toward the end when he had him down in order to win it. Bisping fought a good fight and got some good striking in, but Sonnen was dominant. Takedowns and ground control all day long.
I will say this though, if Sonnen expects to beat Silva this next time around, he better look a heck of alot better than he did against Bisping. He needs to regulate his weight over a longer period of time and not cut too much at the last minute.
No one who watched this fight with the sound off thought Bisping won this fight.
Sonnen dominated the entire fight. He was clearly the ring agressor. He took down Bisping at will, even if Bisping extracted. He had Bisping's back with hooks set. He had full mount on Bisping. Sonnen (a wrestler) fought Bisping (a kickboxing champ) standing up and won.
Ten minutes of Joe Rogan blathering on about how Sonnen had his back to the cage and one last minute reversal not make Bisping a #2 contender.
The lack of MMA knowledge of this writer is inexplicable and frankly, insulting to the reader.
Facts: For the record, I scored the fight 30-27 Sonnen. You can check my live blog for live scoring. This was not an opinion piece. It was what Bisping and Sonnen said after the fight. Frankly, I was surprised Sonnen thought he may have lost, but I did think the first two rounds were close (2nd especially). Thanks for reading.
First 2 rounds were close indeed, could have gone either way. Sonnen's dominance in the 3rd sealed the deal.
Chael Sonnen seems to have forgotten that he lost his fight Anderson Silva (by submission) as well as who is responsible for the UFC in the first place. Maybe someone should remind him... Again.
I was suprised by the 30-27, Chael didn't really do any damage and took a lot of shots to his face in that 2nd round. I thought 1st could have gone either way with a slight lean towards Sonnen, 2nd to Bisping and 3rd easily to Sonnen.